John G. Rand

John Goffe Rand (1801–1873) lived and worked in Boston, London, and New York as a portrait painter and inventor. Rand invented and patented the first collapsible artist's paint tube.[1]

The tin tube allowed unused oil paint to be stored and used later without drying out. In 1841, Rand patented [2] the invention with the United States Patent Office. He went on to patent several later improvements. Renoir said “Without tubes of paint, there would have been no Impressionism.” [3]

Other later inventions by Rand were not as widely received, and most of his ideas were not financially successful. [4]